Sin is the greatest roadblock to prayer. Confession is "agreeing with God about my sin" - (Ps. 51:10-11, I John 1:9).

Psalm 139:23,24 - "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

2. Praise

Praising God for who and what He is (Ps. 63:3, Ps. 34:1-3):

a. Goodness

b. Patience

c. Love

d. Wisdom

e. Greatness

f. Knowledge

g. Power

h. Holiness

i. Glory

j. Grace

3. Waiting

Waiting on God -- no talking; being "quiet in God's presence" (Isa. 40:31).

Psalm 37:7 -- "Rest in the Lord, and wait paitently for Him ..."

The words "rest in the Lord" in the original Hebrew mean, "Be still in the Lord."

4. The Word

When we pray, we are speaking to God. When we read God's Word, God is speaking to us. Open your Bible, asking God to bless the reading of the Word with concentration and understanding (2 Tim. 3:16).

Psalm 19:7-8 -- "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes."

5. Intercession/Supplication

Intercession is praying for otheres; it is unselfish. Intercession is love on its knees. You should have a list of names of others to uphold in prayer. Supplication is urgent praying for others (1 Tim. 2:1-2; Ps. 2:8).

Psalm 2:8 -- "Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."

6. Petition

Petition is asking God to provide for your personal needs. "Ask and it shall be given you." Make a list of all your personal needs and check them off as God answers prayer (Jas. 4:2).

Matthew 7:7 -- "Ask, and it shall be given you."

7. Thanksgiving

We need to thank God for what He has done. Thanksgiving is simply enumerating those things for which we are grateful (Phil. 4:6; Ps. 100:4):

a. Material possessions

b. Physical blessings

c. Spiritual blessings

d. People

8. Singing

Singing Scripture back to the Lord is one of the highest forms of worship and praise.

There are many songs in the hymnal to be sung to the Lord (Eph. 5:19).

Psalm: 100:2 -- "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing."

9. Meditation

The difference between meditation and waiting is, when we're waiting on God, we are being "quiet in His presence." In meditation, the mind is very active, pondering spiritual things (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:1-2).

Joshua 1:8 -- "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night ...."

10. Listening

Listen for that still small voice of God; wait for specific orders concerning activities of the day (Eccl. 5:2).

1 Kings 19:11-12 -- "...And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and break in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."

11. Psalms

Earlier in your prayer time, you read the Word and allowed God to speak to you. Now you pray the Word back to God. The book of Psalms is full of personal prayers (Ps 147:1).

Psalm 95:2 -- " Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms."

12. Praise

Begin your prayer time with praise and end your prayer time with praise. This step is extremely important (Ps. 150:1-2: Ps. 50:23).

Psalm 50:23 --"Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me.

COMMANDS OF CHRIST

1. Repent - Humility

Matthew 4:17

2. Follow Me - Meekness

Matthew 4.19

3. Rejoice - Joyfulness

Matthew 5:11-12

4. Let Your Light Shine - Generosity

Matthew 5:14-16

5. Honor God's Law - Love

Matthew 5:17

6. Be Reconciled - Responsibility

Matthew 5:23-25

7. Do Not Commit Adultery - Self Control

Matthew 5:28-30

8. Keep Your Word - Truthfulness

Matthew 5:37

9. Go the Second Mile - Deference

Matthew 5:38-42

10. Love Your Enemies - Creativity

Matthew 5:44-46

11. Be Perfect - Sincerity

Matthew 5:46-48

12. Practice Secret Disciplines - Faith

Matthew 6:1-18

13. Lay Up Treasures - Thriftiness

Matthew 6:19-21

14. See God's Kingdom - Initiative

Matthew 6:33

15. Judge Not - Discernment

Matthew 7:1-3

16. Do Not Cast Pearls - Discretion

Matthew 7:6

17. Ask, Seek, and Knock - Resourcefulness

Matthew 7:7-8

18. Do Unto Others - Sensitivity

Matthew 7:12

19. Choose the Narrow Way - Decisiveness

Matthew 7:13-14

20. Beware of False Prophets - Alertness

Matthew 7:15-16

21. Pray for Laborers - Compassion

Matthew 9:37-38

22. Be Wise as Serpents - Wisdom

Matthew 10:16

23. Fear Not - Boldness

Matthew 10:28

24. Hear God's Voice - Attentiveness

Matthew 11:15

25. Take My Yoke - Obedience

Matthew 11:28-30

26. Honor Your Parents - Honor

Matthew 15:4

27. Beware of Leaven - Virtue

Matthew 16:6

28. Deny Yourself - Determination

Luke 9:23-25

29. Despise Not Little Ones - Tolerance

Matthew 18:10

30. Go to Offenders - Justice

Matthew 18:15

31. Beware of Covetousness - Contentment

Luke 12:15

32. Forgive Offenders - Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-22

33. Honor Marriage - Loyalty

Matthew 19:4-6

34. Be a Servant - Availability

Matthew 20:26-28

35. Be A House of Prayer - Persuasiveness

Matthew 21:13

36. Ask in Faith - Patience

Matthew 21:21-22

37. Bring In the Poor - Hospitality

Luke 14:12-14

38. Render to Caesar - Gratefulness

Matthew 22:19-21

39. Love the Lord - Enthusiasm

Matthew 22:37-38

40. Love Your Neighbor - Gentleness

Matthew 22:39-40

41. Await My Return - Punctuality

Matthew 24:42-44

42. Take, Eat,and Drink - Thoroughness

Mathew 26:26-27

43. Be Born Again - Security

John 3:7

44. Keep My Commandments - Diligence

John 14:15

45. Watch and Pray - Endurance

Matthew 26:41

46. Feed My Sheep - Dependability

John 21:15-16

47. Baptize My Disciples - Cautiousness

Matthew 28:19

48. Receive God's Power - Orderliness

Luke 24:49

49. Make Disciples - Flexibility

Matthew 28:20

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you ..." - Matthew 28:19-20

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.(Matthew 16:24-25)

If God has called you to be truly like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility. He will put on you such demands of obedience that you will not be allowed to follow other Christians. In many ways, He seems to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.

Others who seem to be very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and scheme to carry out their plans, but you cannot. If you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others can brag about themselves, their work, their successes, their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. If you begin to do so, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others will be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money, or having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries, but God may supply you only on a day-to-day basis, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, a helpless dependence on Him and His unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward while keeping you hidden in obscurity because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.

God may let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit, but He will make you work and toil without knowing how much you are doing. Then, to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work which you have done; this to teach you the message of the Cross, humility, and something of the value of being cloaked with His nature.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch on you, and with a jealous love rebuke you for careless words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over.

So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and that He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.

God will take you at your word. If you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things that you cannot. Settle it forever; you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue or chaining your hand or closing your eyes in ways which others are not dealt with. However, know this great secret of the Kingdom: When you are so completely possessed with the Living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven, the high calling of God.

By G.D. Watson

G.D.Watson (1845-1924) was a Wesleyan Methodist minister and evangelist based in Los Angeles. His evangelistic campaigns took him to England, the West Indies, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Korea. He also wrote several books.